Archives for 2015

You know how we used to all look at the J.Crew catalogs, and think how are they mixing all those colors and prints together? Well, I used to think that anyway, but these days, it seems every outfit I put together is filled with this style called “pattern play.” I’m making some pretty great friends in this blogging community–who are all embracing this colorful style of dressing. Lead ringer among us is Sheela. She got six of us together to style four or more colors. Four colors could include different patterns as well: you know like leopard and plaid paired with a winter sweater, bright gloves, and a luxe bag! Here’s a take of six style bloggers who interpreted more than four colors:

Here’s my good friend Sheela from Sheela Writes. Somehow, through both physical distance and time difference, we have become really good buds. In fact, while I’m in Hong Kong, I’ll sometimes wake and start chatting with her on Whatsapp. One of these days I do know we will meet with either a visit in the States or in Asia. Even though Sheela will say this was a difficult challenge for her, she still looks great–evidence that confidence is another item we wear. Sheela, special thanks goes to you for coordinating all of us!

Samantha writes Fake Fabulous, and believe me there is everything fabulous about her and nothing fake. I’ve already stated my inspiration for Sam here. As per usual, she is bold and quirky and it always just works. When Sheela and I were figuring out a style challenge beyond our monthly Fab 40s, we turned to Samantha’s style. She definitely served as inspiration for this challenge. And of course, she totally rocked it!

Liyana is a blogger I’ve just met; she writes Affordable.com. (I think she scored with the url, and I wonder how often she’s asked to sell it….) I love how simply colorful Liyana is. Look how expertly she’s paired dots. Can you find them all? Next time I go to Malaysia I know who I will be meeting! Make sure you go to Liyana’s “About Page;” her pic there is just about the cutest blogging portrait out there.

Nicole writes Lipstick and Brunch. I always have a little hair envy for those who so boldly color their hair. I always wish I could just go for it (and not just on a photo shopped April Fools’ joke.) When I read about Nicole, I became very fascinated by her history. She’s Honduran, so I have a feeling if we become texting buddies like I am with Sheela, we might write a bit in Spanish. I love how colorful Nicole is–she definitely had no trouble with this challenge.

Anna lives on an island–just like me, hence her blog, Anna’s Island Style. However her island is tranquil and isolated, hardly comparable to busy-busy Hong Kong. Yet, I think our commute to go shopping is similar in time getting there! I first met Anna when she started reading Kremb de la Kremb. Because she’s always been so supportive and encouraging, a friendship was sure to begin. Since her finding me, we email and Facebook: in fact in the new year, you can look forward to a travelling sort of collab between Anna, Samantha and me…

What do you think? Do you ever wear more than four colors? Do you need help figuring out how to do this? You could call on anyone of us, and we would totally be ready to help you.

This month The Fab 40s are wearing faux fur. It’s already a known fact that I have a serious thing for faux fur. When Jane from My Midlife Fashion called this month’s theme, I got pretty excited. I love wearing faux fur, and this material is seriously having a moment. Believe it or not, this fluffy Chewbacca coat is probably ten or so years old. I picked it after all the holiday sales when we were home many years ago–mabye over ten or so years ago. We actually can’t pin point the exact year we were last home during a winter vacation. Take note of all the women in this post as they have expertly styled faux fur: from cuffed ponchos and full on clutches, it’s pretty easy to pick up a beautiful faux fur item to compliment your winter outfits.

Beth from Style at a Certain Age
Jane invted Beth to be our guest blogger this month. Beth has such classy style; I really do admire it. You will see what I mean when you visit her 2015 review post of her favorite outfits. To me, I think she looks like a Ralph Lauren model!

Here’s one last holiday lrd! I know I have way too many red dresses: there’s my boho version, my wrap dress, and my retro vintage. Now with this post, I’ve styled my cocktail version of the little red dress. Usually I spend my winter holidays vacationing in warmer climates. With a three week holiday this time around, I’ll definitely need to be dressing to stay warm. Therefore for this one shouldered holiday lrd I wore fleece leggings and a wool turtleneck underneath. Guaranteed I’ll be warm in all the snow! Plus all the fanfare on this lrd is so festive. I love this dress–so much. It was picked up during my travels at a Forever 21 in Bangkok. I’ve had it for years–and I don’t think I plan on binning it anytime soon. It really is the perfect holiday lrd–for cold or warm climates!

Oh! I do love the holiday lrd–as shown with this vintage one here, this boho one here, and this exact one also here! With Christmas just this week, I’ve got one more interpretation of the holiday lrd for Wednesday. The last time I styled this dress, I put a plaid shirt underneath so as to conceal my cleavage. When dressing for a holiday party however, I don’t mind if my cleavage were to show–it’s not like I’ve got it, flaunt it, but more like I’ve got it, so deal with it. A wrap dress for the fuller chested woman is a nice option. With the tie at the waist it offers a full figured woman more shape. Here, I embraced my figure by also complimenting the line of the dress with a similarly styled coat. I’m all wrapped up! Stay tuned for one last holiday lrd on Wednesday. Happy Holidays in your little red dress! Will you be wearing one?

I’m a stylist! Well, just about anyway. Today I sent off my final module to the London College of Style. The very last assignment is this very blog post announcing my completion.

What makes me a stylist?

Under the guidance of LCS I’ve increased my styling skills in so many ways. Here’s a couple of highlights from my experience:

Learning all there is to know regarding different shapes and sizes of people including the colors that work for them

Understanding the terminology and structures found in fashion

Designing my own line of clothing for a fashion show

Helping real life people with their wardrobes–like a pregnant woman’s transitioning body, a lady who can’t stand shopping, and overwhelming closet clean out

Styling Meryl Streep for an award ceremony

Giving Harry Conick Jr a makeover

Creating a men’s editorial in various cities around the world (with large ferris wheels), highlighting each city’s style vibe

Providing a brand image with Rebel Wilson for a plus sized fashion line

Shooting an editorial based on all sequins

Would you like a stylist to help you?

I can help you in all sorts of ways. And don’t worry about the long distance. These days, between emailing, texting, and face-to-face calling, there’s no problem with figuring out a way to communicate. I could help you in so many ways. Here are just a few ideas: I could revamp your wardrobe, help style you for an event, or refresh your personal style.

Last Christmas when we spent our holiday in Bali, I found the perfect work party dress. It seems like the most unusual place to find such a sparkly item, but when I saw this shift, I fell in love at first sight–regardless of where it was found. Since I love dressing up, I had no qualms with wearing this sequin number to my work party–however I knew that it is a bit of as showy number. Therefore I took two measures in an attempt to (try) calm it down: I paired it with worn-in riding boots and a denim jacket. Hopefully these two items added some casualness to the perfect work party dress. Then there were two more measures I took to match the glamour of the dress: first, I added some Indian baubles with my Rajasthani style cocktail ring and earrings. Next, after a long work of day, I layered on the kohl, mascara, and shimmery red lippy–almost as good as getting refreshed with a shower.

What do you think? Would you wear this perfect work party dress for your holiday office party?

It was just last week that I was showcasing a holiday LRD (little red dress). It turns out that I have another holiday LRD (and maybe even a couple more–we’ll see!). This little red dress now appears to be more of tunic since I might have (again!) hemmed it too short. Both the snowflake tunic and fringed gilet were given to me from Firefly–it’s part of being a brand ambassador for them. I cannot complain! And both these items are now on serious sale! My friend Norbyah took the photos–which also inspired the hat. I had seen one on her reminding me to wear my own. The cool–or I should say hot–thing about wearing a hat is how it keeps one so warm. We have now reached the point in Hong Kong weather where layers are so helpful. So while I don’t need a ton to keep me warm, I was plenty cozy and also protected from the cool breeze and light drizzle.

This last picture is a sample of some over-the-top-ness. I added the tie from the first Holiday LRD. Then for more layers I added a fur infinity scarf as well as a red and black leopard scarf. I think if I were cold, I just keep it two the two scarves. Because wearing a hat is already on the more daring side (at least for me anyway), I didn’t need to add any extra color with the red tie.

Two weeks ago I hosted a link up right around Thanksgiving–which is always a weekend filled with gratitude. I took that moment to thank a few (9 to be exact) fellow bloggers: individuals that have helped me to become a better blogger. A blog however would be nothing without its readers. A blog needs readers. Yet, readers of a blog are hard to pinpoint. While my readership (thankfully and luckily) continues to increase, I often times do not know who those readers are. The statistical dashboard of a blog will only tell me so much. However, it is through the comments on Kremb de la Kremb where I can really begin to tell who actually checks in and reads this blog (sometimes a daily basis!). I am proud of my five very steady readers. I love them. I rely on them. They keep me going. With their feedback, and the fact that I know they’re reading, I often keep at it so as not to disappoint. Five is a rather small number in the blogging world, BUT, it does not matter. I feel inclined to keep writing just because I love that these five fabulous women are reading (and then commenting). Thank you ladies! Thank you so much for reading Kremb de la Kremb!

A Blog Needs Readers–My Five:

Jacqueline is a somewhat new reader, but she’s very consistent and super supportive. When the communication between bloggers exits the comment field and enters into emails, you know you’ve got some blogger love going on! For Jacqueline, who is pretty fresh into the blogging world (she just wrote her 50th post!), it’s been fun to get to know her and encourage her to do things like submit her posts to Independent Fashion Bloggers and then get chosen–like I knew she would!

Greetje is the most honest woman I’ve met in a while. I love how she just says it as it is. She also questions some of my style decisions making me rethink things or support sartorial decisions. I really appreciate how straight forward she is. She reminds me of my most honest girlfriend Caron who will also tell it as it is. Each one of us need women like that in our life. Without them, we might be, well, I don’t know. Doing some pretty silly things!

Anna is also a new reader that I just love. She’s consistently supportive and always inquisitive. In fact we have such appreciation of some of our wardrobe items, we’re actually figuring out how to create some sort of exchange between us. She loves my orange paisley pants, and I love her orange plaid cape. We’ll figure it out! Also, a discussion of lipstick and recommendations for Anna are a topic we discuss on the side.

Samantha made it on to my other blog list too in terms of influencing me to become better. But, it started with her being such a supportive reader. She’d always comment and initiate the blogger love; in turn I started to get to know her, visit her Fake Fabulous, and in turn fall in love. That’s the thing: this whole blogger community, it’s all reciprocated some how. Now, I check in to her site daily as well, always eager to see her next sartorial move. One time, her post drove me to tears since I just wanted to really get to know her in person–not just online.

Sheela also made it on my influencer list, but also she’s one of my best readers. She always leaves short little notes that are filled with jokey lines only we would get. Like I said before, we text on the side, asking daily questions so it’s no surprise that she’s become one of my best readers as well as influencers. In fact on the side we’re trying to figure out another style challenge for ourselves. Stay tuned for that!

Who Are Your Blog Readers?

If you’re here to link up, you know what I’m talking about. Who are your dedicated blog readers? I know you have some. Who are they? Don’t be bashful to share. They deserve some blogging love!

Last week, I declared my need for a new plaid shirt; then, it was the day after that I found one. (Since my doctor’s office is right in the heart of shopping central, I just happened to take a peek in Zara!) This new plaid shirt is perfect for the cooler temperatures since it’s made of flannel. Proving once again the extreme versatility of the plaid shirt I’ve styled it with three different skirts: a preppy red a-line, a glammed-up ball gown skirt, and a (p)leather pencil skirt.

Plaid Shirt paired with a red A-line:

Tucked into a fun detailed a-line skirt, this look takes on a bit of a preppy vibe–especially paired with a denim jacket and plaid slip-ons. One of my good friends, Mary Kelly, gave me this skirt. I do love a hand-me-down–in this case more like a hand-me-up.I tried out blue tights again, but this time I went for a more subdued hue–but also sparkly!

Plaid Shirt paired with a Ball Gown Skirt:

I love this ball gown skirt that I designed for my designer walk at last spring’s fashion show that I participated in. The thing is a ball gown is hardly casual, yet I enjoy dressing it down by pairing it with this plaid shirt tied at the waist. Just to honor the glam I also styled it with my faux fur picked up from Jasmine, an amazing local HK fashion blogger. Also, here’s a style tip: always pop in to Zara girls for cute little crossover bags. I doubt you can tell this is a girls’ bag, but it is.

Plaid Shirt paired with a (P)leather pencil skirt:

I have now started to wear flat shoes, but slip-ons and tennis shoes are still making the rounds in my daily wear. Because of the white sole, I thought the white blazer vest tied everything together to compliment the black and white shoes. This used to be a long sleeved blazer, but I have found once I took the sleeves off it, I wear it much more often. Left tucked out the plaid shirt attempts to match the casual shoe choice. Also, here’s another bag from the girls’ section at Zara. Again, can you tell? I didn’t think so!

Which way would you wear this plaid shirt? Tucked in, tied at the waist, or left tucked out?

Mad for Plaid!

Maybe you’ve been inspired to make sure your closet also has a plaid shirt in it. If that’s the case, here are the best ones I could find for you. Shop away!

I don’t need much of an excuse to wear an lrd (little red dress), but I do like to save my little red dresses for holiday wear. Imagine my joy when I was able to scoop up this cute number from my vintage blogging buddyNorbyah. We might be close in height but definitely not in width. That’s one thing that makes vintage shopping harder on the curvy lady: the vintage sizes are usually more petite. In fact in this post, I’m beyone proud to say every clothing item–accessories like my earrings, tights, and bag excluded–is second hand BUT new to me! And, I’d like to say I find this entire outfit very fresh and definitely holiday worthy. Will you be wearing an LRD this holiday season? I’ve got a few more to share. Would you like to see them styled?

Some Holiday LRD Outfit Details:

The LRD–Norbyah, and some other awesome Hong Kong Fashion Bloggers, threw a swap in November. I got more than enough winter goods, including this little red dress. I hemmed it to show a bit more let–which totally personalized it for me.(P)Leather Jacket–I got this at another swap a couple of years agoOver-the-Knee Boots–this was another swap score at the Get Redressed one back in SeptemberBeaded Clutch–Jakarta Spa BoutiqueEarrings–mixmatched earrings from Ben’s at Jardine’s Bazaar (4th stall on the left)